The Portland daily press., 1887-05-04
Purposes for Which Secretary Bay
ard Proposed a Mixed Commission.

ara PropoSed Mixed Commission.
OTTAWA, May 3.-The Minister of Fish
cries brought down the fisheries correspond
ence this afternoon. 1t is bulky volume,
covering period from 1884 down to very
recent date. Much of the correspondence
has already appeared and only the later de-
spatches are of public interest at this time.
Following the recent negotiations for the
settlement of existing difficulties it appears
that on December Sd last Mr.. Phelps,
United States minister at London, trans
mitted to the Imperial government a copy of
an outline for the proposed ad interim ar
rangenent between the two governments on
this subject, which had been prepared by
Secretary Bayard. After reciting The differ
ences which had arisen in regard to the in
depreciation of the treaty of 1918, Secretary
| Bayard proposed mixed commission for the
| following purposes:
First-To agree upon and establish series
| of lines, the limits of which shall separate
the exclusive from the common right of fish
| ing on the coasts and in the adjacent waters
| of the British North American colonies in
conformity with the first article of the con-
| venti0n of 1918 except that the bays and
harbors from which American fishermen are
| in the future to be excluded save for the
| purposes for which entrance into bays and
harbors is permitted by said article, are
hereby agreed to be taken to. be such bays
| and harborS as are ten, or less than ten,
miles in width and distance of three ma
rine miles from such bays and harbors shall
| be measured from straight line drawn
across the bay or harbor in the part nearest
the entrance at the first point, where the
| width does not exceed ten miles, said lines
to be regularly numbered, duly described
and also clearly marked on charts prepared
| In duplicate for the purposed acts.
| Second-To agree upon and establish such
| relations as may be necessary and proper to
secure to the fishermen of the United States
| the privilege of entering bays and harbors
| for the purpose of shelter and repairing dam
| age there, of purchasing and obtaining wa
| ter and to establish restrictions to prevent
the abuse of privileges reserved by said con-
| venti0n to the fishermen of the United
| States.
Third-To agree upon and recommend the
| penalties to be adjudged and such proceed
ings and Jurisdiction as may be necessary to
secure speedy trial and Judgment for vio-
lators of the rights and transgressors of
limits and restrictions which may be adopt
cd Pending definite arrangement there
was to be an abstention from seizing United
States fishing ivessels unless found within
three marine miles of the Canadian coast.
Secretary Bayard further proposed that
each country should send national vessel to
the Gulf and to the south coast of Nova Sco-
tia to superintend the fishing operations,
and hear and examine into any cases of dis
pute which might arise. He also suggested
that fishing vessels of the United States are
to have in Canadian ports the same privi-
legeS as other vessels of the United States,
including the purchase of bait and other
supplies, and that the government of Great
Britain is to release all United States fishing
fishing vessels now under seizure for failure
to report at the custom houses, and refund
all the fines exacted for such failure. A copy
OF this despatch was duly forwarded to Can
ada, and under date of Dec. 2S Lord Lands
downe forwarded the reply of the Canadian
government. With regard to the first article
in Secretary Bayard's proposal it says this
reservation involves the surrender of the ex-
elusive right of fishing in bays which hither-
to have been regarded as beyond all question
within the territorial waters of Canada.
Such, for instance, .as the right of fishing in
the inner waters of the Bale des Chaleurs at
points forty or fifty miles from its mouth,
which, roughly speaking, may be said to be
less than twenty miles wide at its opening
Article two of the memorandum prejudges
In favor of the United States one of the most
important Of the points which have been in
dispute by deciding adversely to Canada the
construction which is to be placed upon the
Imperial and Canadian statutes, the proper
Interpretation of which is at this moment
the subject of litigation before Canadian
courts.
Article three was objected to as likely TO
Article four prejudges in favor of the
United States an important question which
has arisen as to the commercial privaless to
which the Uuited States fishing vessels are
entitled while in Canadian waters. The his
tory of the negotiations which preceded the
convention of 1918 makes it perfectly clear
that the purchase of bait was not one of the
purposes for which it was intended United
States fishing vessels should have the
right of entering Canadian waters
1t is, | observe proposed by Mr.. Bayard in
the article under consideration that this point
also should ee decidedin anticipation against
the Dominion without further discussion.
Under article five 1t is assumed that the seiz-
ures and detentions which have taken place
during the past season in consequence of non
compliance by United States fishermen with
the customs laws of Canada have in all cases
involved a violation of the treaty Of 1918 by
the Canadian authorities, and the Canadian
government was in effect asked before Igoing
into court to plead guilty to all the counts
contained in this part of the Indictment
against the United States. Then Mr.. Bay
ards proposal amounts to this, that the gov
ernment of the Dominion is to sub
nit its conductin the past and its rights in
the future to the arbitrament OF commission
without any assurance whatever that the
recommendations of that commission are
likely to be accepted by Congress, and that
before the inquiry commences it is to place
upon record an admission that it has been in
the wrong upon all of the most important
points In the controversy. Such an admis-
sion would involve a public renunciatiOn of
substantial and valuable rights and priyi-
leges for all time, without any sort of equiv
alent as compensation. l trust Her Majes-
ty's government, to the utmost of its ability,
will discourage the United States from press
ing these proposals in their present shape,
and will avoid any action which might in
duce the belief that the offer embodied in
them is one which deserves O favorable re-
cepti0n at the hands of the government Of
the Dominion.
The answer to this came in the form of a
telegram from Sir Henry Holland to Lord
Landsdowne, under date of Feb. "a. 1887, as
follows:
Your despatch of December 28th, has been
carefully considered by Her Majesty's cover
ment who Will communicate with the Unite
States government in general accordance. with
the views OF your minister on Mr.. Bavard's pro-
posal for mixed commission. There are, how
ever, one or two points on which further commu-
nication will be made to you. Her Majesty's gov
ernment feel right to intimate to you that after
much consideration of the whole subject while
endeavoring to brinpsAbout an al Interim arrange
ment they are disposed to think it best, and the
simplest solution of the present difficulty might be
found If both parties would agree to revert to the
condition of things existing under the treaty of
Washington, the fisheries being again thrown
free. This. arrangement, if not permanent
is to. subsst at least for term so as
commercial arrangements. They think however,
1t would be clearly to the interest OF the Dominion
10 OIer JnlS arrangement WITHOUT any suggestion
to pecuniary indemnity.
To this Lord Lansdowne answers under
date of February 26th:
In reply to your telegram of the oath of Febru-
ary My government will accept your sugges-
ton of revertiDg temporarily to the condition of
things existing under the treaty of Washington
and do not desire to raise the question of in
demnity.
Lord Salisbury in communicating to the
American government the consent of the
Imperial authorities to a mixed commission
| to report upon the matters referred to In the
| three first articles of the draft of the proto-
| col communicated to Earl Clarendon by
| Adams in 1866 says: Pending the termin-
| alton of the questions, which it would dis
| cuss, it would be indispensable that the
| United States fishing vessels entering Cana
| dian bays and harbors should govern them
selves, not only according to the terms of
| the convention of 1918, but by the regula-
| tions to which they, in common with other
| vessels, are subject while within snch waters.
| Her Majesty's government, however, have
no doubt every effort will be made to enforce
| those regulations in such manner as to
| cause the smallest amount of incon-
venience to fishing vessels entering
Canadian ports under stress of weather,
or for any other legitimate purposes.
But there is another course which Her Ma
jesty's government are inclined to propose,
and which in their opinion would afford a
temporary solution of the solution of the
| controversy anna 1lv oraditahla IN hnfh mar